Google Books offers access to countless out-of-print and current works. Google says its competitors' complaints about the service are just sour grapes. It writes in a recent legal brief, "Competitors such as Amazon raise anxieties about Google's potential market position, but ignore their own entrenched market dominance."

Google defends its actions in a new legal brief

Google
Books today is one of the internet's most useful and unique
resources. The site contain scores of works in their entirety
and many more which are partially uploaded. Many of these works
were previously lost to the world -- out-of-print works that
publishers refused to republish. Thus Google is arguably
offering unprecedented access to the science and literary wealth of
mankind.

However, not everyone is happy with that. A
coalition led
by Microsoft and Amazon has attacked Google's legal pact
with publishers on antitrust and copyright grounds. They say
that the deal, which allows for sales of in-print uploaded works to
compensate publishers and allows Google to keep uploading the works
without fear of copyright litigation, gives Google an illegally
dominant position in the market.

Google is now defending
its deal to the U.S. Justice Department, which on Feburary 4
released critical comments of the service. Google ardently
denies wrongdoing. Writes Google in a new
legal brief, "With only one significant exception, the
parties sought to implement every suggestion the United States
(Justice Department) made in its September submission."

The
one suggestion it did not agree to was to seek every author's
permission to keep their books on Google Books. They argue that
would take too long, and would become problematic for deceased
authors. They argue agreeing to the provision "would
eviscerate the purposes of the ASA (amended settlement
agreement)."

Google says that its agreement will not stop
other parties from seeking their own agreements and will not harm
libraries, one allegation that was leveled against it. It's
lawyers write, "The ASA will enable the parties to make
available to people throughout the country millions of out-of-print
books. This is precisely the kind of beneficial innovation that
the antitrust laws are intended to encourage, not to frustrate."

And
in the new brief it also is quick to attack claims that it is
creating a monopoly, pointing out that Amazon and Microsoft both
represent monopoly risks as well. It writes, "Competitors
such as Amazon raise anxieties about Google's potential market
position, but ignore their own entrenched market dominance."

Google
also pointed out that any author can opt out of the project.

The
Open Book Alliance, the group fronted by Microsoft and Amazon and
largely composed of various writers and library groups, fired back a
quick email response to the brief, stating, "Despite the spin
from Google's attorneys, the amended settlement will still offer the
search and online advertising giant exclusive access to books it has
illegally scanned to the detriment of consumers, authors and
competition."

Google faces a critical turning point on
Febuary 18 when U.S. District Judge Denny Chin must decide
whether to approve or deny the class action suit settlement that set
up the deal with publishers. A
rejection would be a major deal to Google's digitizing
efforts and a major victory for Microsoft and Amazon. Even if
Google can get the settlement approved, it still could face
additional legal challenges from Amazon and Microsoft.

"I'm an Internet expert too. It's all right to wire the industrial zone only, but there are many problems if other regions of the North are wired." -- North Korean Supreme Commander Kim Jong-il